Angolan President Lourenço to Grace Mashujaa Day Celebrations

Kericho County is gearing up for the Mashujaa Day celebration tomorrow (Friday). The Angolan President Joao Lourenço is set to be the chief guest festivities.

The Angolan leader has already arrived in Kenya for a state visit spanning Friday and Saturday.

The invitation was extended and accepted during the United Nations General Assembly held in New York in September when President Lourenço met with Kenyan President William Ruto. This visit is seen as an opportunity to enhance diplomatic relations between Kenya and Angola.

During his stay, President Lourenço will be hosted at State House Nairobi on Saturday, where he will engage in bilateral talks. In a display of honor and respect, Kenya is set to roll out the red carpet, complete with a military guard of honor and a 21-gun salute to welcome the Angolan leader who is also the chairperson of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region.

In addition to the official events, President Lourenço will also visit the mausoleum of Kenya’s founding father, Jomo Kenyatta, on Saturday.

Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign and Diaspora CS Musalia Mudavadi together with his Angolan counterpart, Tete Antonio oversaw the inaugural joint commission for cooperation between Kenya and Angola.

Mudavadi during the cooperation meeting in Nairobi, said the two nations are uniting for a brighter future, strengthening ties in trade, diplomacy, and beyond.

Apart from bilateral matters, regional issues especially the bitter conflict in Eastern DRC will feature boldly during the talks.

Kinshasa says the Regional Force being led by Kenya will leave the Congolese territories by December 8, signaling a refusal to extend any further mandate for the troops.

President Ruto will seek to leverage Lourenço’s experience and closeness with Kinshasa as far as the regional force is concerned.

In 2022, the African Union chose the Angolan President as chairperson of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region to mediate talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, amid increasing tensions between the two countries.